Join Us in Working Together to End Domestic Abuse And

Full MembershipApplication Form

Join us in working together to end domestic abuse and

all forms of violence against women.

About Welsh Women’s Aid

Welsh Women’s Aidis the national charity in Wales working to end domestic abuse and all forms of violence against women.

Established in 1978, we represent, campaign for, and support a federation of local independent charities delivering specialist domestic abuse and violence against women prevention services in Wales, as part of a UK network of provision. These specialist services constitute our core membership, and between them they provide lifesaving refuges, outreach, and community advocacy and support to survivors of violence and abuse - women, men, children, families - and deliver innovative preventative work in local communities.

We also deliver direct services including the Live Fear Free Helpline; the refuge and advocacy services in Colwyn Bay and Wrexham; and the national Children Matter preventative project which supports our members to help children and young people in every local authority in Wales.

We have been at the forefront of shaping coordinated community responses and practice in Wales, by campaigning for change and providing advice, consultancy, support and training to deliver policy and service improvements for survivors, families and communities.

As a national federation, our policy work, campaigning, consultancy, training and advocacy is all grounded in the lived experience of local specialist services and service users. Our success is founded on making sure the experiences and needs of survivors are central to all we do.

About Full Membership

In previous years, membership of Welsh Women’s Aid has been open to any organisation or individual who supports our vision and mission. Following consultation with our membership in 2015, we have established accompanying organisational and individual supporter categories, alongside our core full organisational membership, to distinguish between categories of support and services we provide to members and to supporters.

You are applying for Full Organisational Membership of Welsh Women’s Aid described asFull Membership.

This is open to any organisation:

whose core business it is to provide independent, specialist services that offer dedicated support for women and children survivors of domestic abuse and/or other forms of violence against women,working in partnership where possible with other specialist services for survivors in order to foster collaboration, solidarity and leadership in the sector, and

who support our vision, mission and values (Statement of Support, pp 4-5 below), and
who agree to abide by our terms ofmembership (p6 below).

Independent services means independent from statutory provision in local authorities/criminal justice system. Dedicated specialist support may include a diverse range of provision including refuge-based support, advice and outreach, women-only spaces, health, legal or therapeutic services, and women’s empowerment groups.

As a valued Full Member, you will form part of a Wales federation of specialist services that work as part of a UK-Women’s Aid federation to provide a strong collective voice on the issues that concern us most in our work to end domestic abuse.

As a Full Member you will receive:

Awelcome pack for new members featuring a selection of our leaflets and posters.
Opportunities to input into regional, national and international policy-making developments.
The latest electronic updates and newsletters providing information on our work, on sector-relevant policy and research, toolkits and guidance.
Access to a national campaigns network and coordinated campaign toolkits, informed by the experience and needs of our specialist services and survivors.
Advice and information on the provision of specialist services and new, promising and best practice in the sector.
Practical information and support on Human Resources and business development issues, from Welsh Women’s Aid HR and Business development leads with access to further support at a discounted consultancy rate.
Access to out of hours cover and diversion of calls, to the Wales Live Fear Free Helpline, funded by welsh Government and delivered by Welsh Women’s Aid.
Recognition as a Full Member in accordance with our Memorandum and Articles of Association and voting rights at our Annual General Meeting; a minimum of 4 places on our Board of Trustees are reserved for Full Members.
One-to-one advice and support on policy and practice guidance and access to support, to help build capacity and sustainability of your services.
The opportunity to join Welsh Women’s Aid in a national coordinated partnership to deliver services, as and when opportunities arise and subject to the needs of our members and survivors.
Eligibility to apply for national accreditation through the Welsh Women’s Aid National Quality Standards for specialist services.
Financial benefits through group discounts negotiated for members e.g. insurance (Specialist Refuge Insurance Policy available to our members through DE Ford Insurance Brokers which includes access to a dedicated Health & Safety website and free telephone advice); online case management and data recording system (OASIS).
A network for CEOs/Directors to share ideas and practice on work related to governance, strategic development and partnership working, supported by Welsh Women’s Aid CEO.
Access to regional and national data analysis reports to support local needs assessments, business development and fundraising.
Discounted access to specialist and accredited training.
Free and discounted access, with priority booking to a programme of seminars and events.
Access to the Full Members’ Area on our website (new from 2016) which will be regularly updated with information relevant to direct service providers.
Use of the Welsh Women’s Aid logo (for full members only) to demonstrate your affiliation to WWA.

Full Membership fees

Membership is renewable on an annual basis. The membership year runs from 1st April to 31st March and full organisational membership fees are payable in respect of a complete year irrespective of the date of first becoming a member.

Band A Annual income up to £100,000 / £100
Band B Annual income between £100,000 and £250,000 / £250
Band C Annual income between £250,000 and £400,000 / £400
Band D Annual income between £400,000 and £650,000 / £550
Band E Annual income between £650,000 and £1 million / £700
Band F Annual income over £1 million / £850

Statement of Support

By submitting the application to become a Full Member or supporter, you agree to support the vision, mission and values of Welsh Women’s Aid, set out in thisStatement of Support.

Our vision: A world in which women and children live free from actual or threatened domestic abuse and all forms of violence against women.

Our mission: To prevent domestic abuse and violence against women and ensure high-quality services for survivors that are needs-led, gender-responsive and holistic.

Our values: The values and principles that inform our work are founded on gender equality, human rights and non-discrimination:

Feminism and equality: We work within a feminist ethos and as part of the movement for social justice, which advocates for and proactively attains women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality.

Empowerment: We advocate a rights-based approach and create a context in which women and children can achieve self-determination and empowerment, so they can flourish and reach their full potential.

Collaboration: We are committed to working together with survivors, our membership and with external partners, sharing knowledge and expertise to maximise every opportunity to make progress towards our vision.

Integrity: We keep survivors voices at the centre of our work, and hold ourselves individually and collectively accountable for our actions and act according to our beliefs and values at all times.

Excellence: Our services evolve in response to emerging needs, changing populations and new/revised ways of thinking about violence against women and children, and we are committed to ensuring we deliver the best that we can possibly achieve.

Domestic abuse is the exercise of control by one person, over another, within an intimate or close family relationship; the abuse can be sexual, physical, financial, emotional or psychological. It is usually a pattern of behaviour, and can happen regardless of age, carer responsibility, class, disability, gender identity, immigration status, ethnicity, geography or religion.

Domestic abuse is gendered: Whilst both men and women can experience violence, and men can experience violence perpetrated by women, most violence and abuse, whether against women or against men, is perpetrated by men. Intimate-partner violence and sexual violence in particular is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men upon women and girls, and women are more likely than men to experience multiple forms of abuse; whether victims and perpetrators are men or women also influences the severity, risk, and harm caused.

Domestic abuse is part of a continuum of ‘violence against women’ and is a pervasive human rights violation. We endorse the definition of ‘violence against women’ used by the United Nations, World Health Organisation, Crown Prosecution Service, UK Governmentand other international governments as violence directed at a woman because she is a woman, or involve acts of violence which are suffered disproportionally by women.These violence against women crime-types also include rape and sexual violence; stalking; forced marriage; so-called ‘honour-based violence’; female genital mutilation (FGM); trafficking and sexual exploitation including through the sex industry; and sexual harassment in work and public life.

Inequality between women and men is a cause and consequence of men’s violence against women; the most significant factors that impact on levels of partner violence are socially constructed gender-related norms that normalise men’s violence against and control of women partners and inequality between women and men.[1] Although not all violence against women occurs within a context of traditional power relations, perpetrators’ behaviour stems from a sense of entitlement supported by sexist, racist, disablist, homophobic and other discriminatory attitudes, behaviours and systems that maintain and reproduce inequality. We recognise that sexism, racism and other forms of oppression are inextricably bound together and we strive for equality by overcoming the intersecting oppressions experienced by women and girls.

Our perspective advocates a gender-responsive and trauma informed response, which is needs-led, strengths-based and enables survivors to achieve independence and freedom. We aim to create safe spaces for women to identify our own priorities and to strengthen our voices locally, nationally and internationally. As such, we promote the need for safe, separate provision for women and men, and women-led services that encourage women’s leadership, autonomy and self-determination.

Our perspective locates domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women as a form of systematic discrimination, whilst also allowing for the recognition that men and boys may be victims of some of these forms of violence and for female perpetrators, in delivery of responses. We are committed to supporting women, men, girls and boys who experience violence and abuse; to challenging all those who perpetrate violence and abuse, and to preventing it from happening in the first place.

Many actions taken as part of our response to domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women will also be applicable to men and boys because legislation, policies and procedures should provide protection and redress to all victim/survivors. However, where appropriate, specific actions may be needed, proportionally, to:

Challenge the behaviour of men who use violence and abuse,
Support men where they experience violence and abuse,
Support boys who witness or experience violence or abuse, and
Work with men as allies in challenging violence and abuse and helping to change the attitudes and actions of their peers.

Further information on our strategic priorities and the impact we seek to achieve, is set out in our Strategic Plan, which has been consulted on through 2015 and is available alongside this membership pack.

Full Members: terms of membership

Full Members of Welsh Women’s Aid are organisations whose core business it is to provideindependent, specialist services that offer dedicated support for women and children survivors of domestic abuse and/or other forms of violence against women, working in partnership where possible with other specialist services for survivors in order to foster collaboration, solidarity and leadership in the sector.

All Full Members agree to the following terms of membership*:

Pay any fees or monies owed within required time periods as set in governing documents.

Provide Welsh Women’s Aid with applicable and timely information to inform our national work representing local services, including case-studies and quarterly data on service use and impact(in-line with the ‘Service Level Agreement: Provision and Use of data’ and the data collation template provided with this pack).

Ensure that work and practice in Wales reflects the voices and needs of survivors.

Promote understanding of domestic abuse as a gendered form of violence rooted in inequality between men and women, in line with the Statement of Support above.

In recognition that the experiences and needs of men and women victims of abuse differ, have a commitment to offer safe, separate support for women and men, and to delivering (or working towards delivering) interventions that align with best practice and accreditation frameworks (e.g. Respect Standard, Welsh Women’s Aid National Quality Standards).

Recognise children and young people as service users in their own right and give them dedicated support and a voice in service planning.

Recognise the multiple and intersecting inequalities faced by survivors with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 and have a commitment to promoting anti-oppressive approaches in our own organisations and other agencies.

Work in partnership with other dedicated specialist services where possible, valuing and supporting each other’s specialisms and offering integrated local pathways between complementary services.

Support Welsh Women’s Aid campaigns to promote the need for specialist services, improve practice, and to end domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women.

Endorse the Welsh Women’s Aid national Complaints Policy framework (provided along with this pack).

*In the spirit of promoting improvements to practice for the benefit of survivors of abuse, we will work with organisations found to have breached the terms of membership to address any concerns. Welsh Women’s Aid reserves the right to refuse or cancel membership where there is evidence of non-compliance with the requirements of membership.

Full Membership Form 2016-17

Organisation Contact Details
Name of your organisation:
If your organisation is legally part of a larger organisation, please give the name and address:
Main named representative for your organisation:
Name of your Chair of Trustees:
Address of your organisation:
Contact phone No: / Contact 1 Email:
Is it your organisation’s core business to provide dedicated support for women and children affected by domestic abuse and/or violence against women? / Yes / No / If ‘no’, approx. what percentage of your business involves responding to domestic abuse/violence against women?
Charity / company number (if applicable) / Charity: / Company:
Additional contacts for briefings and newsletters: / Contact 2 email: / Contact 2: Contact 3 email:

Payment Details

What was your annual income declared on your most recent Charity Commission or Companies House return? / £
Do you expect this figure to differ this year sufficiently to impact on the relevant fee bracket? / Yes / No
Please tell us how you would like to pay: /

Card Payment
Cheque
Direct Transfer

If available, please provide a purchase order number for the invoice

Upon receipt of your application for membership, an invoice for the relevant fee will be issued to you. Payment options and instructions are detailed on the invoice. Invoices should be settled within 28 days.

About your Organisation and Services:

The following questions are for information only, to help us understand your organisational needs and to provide information on your services. This will not impact on your eligibility for membership.

What kind of organisation are you? E.g. registered charity, public sector, housing association, social enterprise, limited company.
Is your organisation staffed only by women? / Yes / No
Does your organisation have a woman CEO / Director? / Yes / No
Does your organisation have a woman Chair of Trustees? / Yes / No
Are your direct services to women survivors provided only by women? / Yes / No
Are your direct services managed only by women? / Yes / No
Are your services currently listed on UKRefugesonline (UKROL)? / Yes / No / Pending
If you are not currently listed on UKROL, would you like to be? / Yes / No
Roles within your organisation / Number doing this role? (please don’t double count – allocate according to closest description of your roles or include as ‘other’ below)
Trustees
CEOs/Directors
Managers
Administrators
Finance workers
HR workers
Fundraisers
Support workers in refuges (women’s refuges)
Support workers in refuges (men’s refuges)
Children’s support workers in refuges
Resettlement workers
Floating support workers – housing related support
Outreach support workers (adults)
Children’s workers in community/outreach
Family support workers (community-based)
Independent domestic violence advocates (IDVAs)
Independent sexual violence advocates (ISVAs)
Other dedicated sexual violence workers
Group-work facilitators
Peer support workers
Counsellors/therapeutic workers
Schools workers/Community prevention workers
Dedicated support workers for male victims
Dedicated helpline workers
Perpetrator workers
Dedicated Trainers
Other – please state
Other – please state
Other – please state
Total staff employed / Women: / Men:
Total volunteers supported / Women: / Men:
Service provision – refuges provided by your organisation
Do you provide refuge accommodation and support for women and children? / Y / N
If Yes how many units do you provide? / Women: / Children:
Do you provide refuge accommodation and support for male victims? / Y / N
If Yes how many units do you provide? / Men: / Children:
If Yes, are these provided at a separate location from refuge service for women? / Y / N
Are your refuge services staffed on-site 24-hrs? / Y / N
Who owns the property/properties?
Service provision – community-based (non-refuge) support provided by your organisation
Do you provide any of the following services (please tick all that apply)?
If so please detail number of units / individual / family spaces funded where applicable:
Resettlement/move-on service / Yes / No
Floating support service / Yes / No
Community outreach support (non-housing related) / Yes / No
Drop-in service / Yes / No
Individual counselling/therapeutic service / Yes / No
Family groups/counselling / Yes / No
Women’s groups / Yes / No
Peer support
IDVAs – health based / Yes / No
IDVAs – criminal justice / MARACs / Yes / No
ISVAs
Support for survivors of sexual abuse (non-ISVA) / Yes / No
Dedicated support for children and young people / Yes / No
Dedicated support on forced marriage / Yes / No
Dedicated support on ‘honour-based violence’ / Yes / No
Support for women & girls at risk of FGM / Yes / No
Support for survivors in the sex industry / Yes / No
Support for adult survivors child abuse / Yes / No
support for survivors of trafficking / Yes / No
Support for women in the CJS (as offenders) / Yes / No
Support-survivors with substance abuse problems / Yes / No
Support-survivors with mental health problems / Yes / No
Support-survivors with ‘no recourse’ / Yes / No
Support for refugees/asylum seekers / Yes / No
Support with family courts/child contact / Yes / No
Support with debt/benefits/money advice / Yes / No
Legal advice / Yes / No
Dedicated helpline service / Yes / No
Support to access employment/education / Yes / No
Male perpetrator interventions – groups / Yes / No
Male perpetrator interventions – individual work / Yes / No
Female perpetrator interventions – groups / Yes / No
Female perpetrator interventions - individuals / Yes / No
Survivor forums/groups to gain feedback / Yes / No

About your funding and sustainability